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A Birthday Necklace

March 8, 2015 By Danielle

Mom's birthday necklace, front viewLast month was my mom’s birthday (hi Mom!), and I decided to make her a pendant using one of the stones I bought last summer from a fellow RAGMS member. I chose a blue-green oval, which the club member said was “turquoise” — not entirely incorrect. I believe it’s an Eilat stone: a combination of malachite, azurite, chrysocolla and turquoise (all copper-bearing minerals.) It’s a gorgeous stone, and I thought it would contrast well with Mom’s red hair and fair complexion.

I’m really happy with how this pendant turned out, I think it’s my best to date! I explained my design idea to my mentor, he broke it down into steps so I could work most efficiently, and I completed the piece in about 2.5 hours (a speed record, for me!)

Starting the birthday pendant Birthday pendant: bezel and decorative beading soldered to back plate, back cut-out detail sawed out.

As I was pressed for time, I only took a couple of in-progress photos (and didn’t want to post any more than these to Instagram or Facebook, for fear of ruining the surprise.) I soldered the bezel closed, then soldered the decorative beading wire closed in a ring, hammered it flat and fitted it to just outside the bezel, then soldered both to the back plate at the same time, which saved time, pain and stress. I then cut out a heart shape on the back plate, so the color of the stone would show through. (Definitely something I’d try doing again!)

Birthday necklace, front view Birthday necklace, side view Finished necklace in the workshop, three views

As I said, I’m pretty pleased with how this ended up, and so was the recipient! ♥

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: Eilat stone, goldsmithing, jewelry, pendants

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